This type of self-generated power used by the factory would be similar to today’s business-owned and operated in-house computer system employing an IT (information technology) department.

By the early 20th century, it became more cost-effective to power factory machines using electricity delivered over wires from the new commercial power grids, versus constructing and maintaining water wheels or other independent power generation systems.

The move to cloud computing is analogous to the move to commercial electricity by factories in the early 1900s.

The term “cloud computing” is said to have originated during the initial days of computing network design.

Being there is so much interconnection on the Internet, network design engineer’s used a fluffy white cloud as the symbol to represent the Internet in their engineering network design diagrams.

The public Internet is considered the “networks of networks.”

If you have seen diagrams of the Internet, you might think it looks like some massive interstellar galaxy.

This particular galaxy, however, is meshed with countless routers, switches, hubs, data servers, and other devices. They are all interconnected and communicate with each other via special language protocols over fiber optics, copper wires, and wireless networks.

Some networks are privately- owned connections between companies or government entities.

The US Department of Defense has its own private Internet called SIPRNet, or Secret Internet Protocol Router Network.

Classified information is securely sent via data packets over SIPRNet. This network is not accessible from the public Internet.

Businesses are switching from owning and maintaining their own internal networked computer hardware servers and software systems, to using Internet providers selling cloud computing services.

Microsoft’s latest business cloud computing package is called Office 365.

In the years to come, many computing processes we now perform on our personal computers will be accomplished via the power of the Internet cloud.

This week’s column was created, stored, and e-mailed from inside the cloud, using Google Docs and G-mail.